Fun and games today...
Double checked the timing of the cams and was happy that the chains were correct... there are no timing marks to speak of as the ECU will base line it through adaptions in ME7 from what I understand... this is a similar system to the TFSI (pretty much the same VVT units... as well as roller rocker setup)
Punched out the inserts from the old guide... rather wreck that testing and playing than the new one at this time..
I test fitted the guide after holding the tensioner in a decent placement to clear the cover... you can see the challenge..
I was feeling confident that my idea would work so went to work on the new guide...
I didn't fancy the idea of shaving material off the guide face like most of the internet has suggested so the next obvious step was to mod the mounting positions to allow the guide to sit back and relieve tension between the intermediate shaft and cam sprocket...
First I opened up the lower part of the guide that slots onto a stud just inside the lower cover... the idea being that this will help the whole guide sit further back across the same plane as the mounting bolt holes... I marked up the position the bolt would be to give me a sense of direction (god knows I need it lol)
Using a dremel I elongated the holes... Doing this will let the guide sit back a bit...
I then cut the metal inserts in half...
...this will still give the required platform to be able to tighten the bolt up to (10nm remember) while allowing the guide to sit further back...
I also had to grind some material out of the top cover where the tensioner pad was just to be sure of a bit of clearance... the scribed marks are either side of the tensioner so needed a little work to make sure it was all clear...
Test fitted everything (more than a few times!!!) and I was able to fit the cover by hand without having to manhandle it over on the dowels and use a hammer to get it to seat properly...
I am as yet unsure if this is a 100% fix... the engine turned fine with the cover on and the hydraulic tensioner fitted but time will tell I guess..
I am happy with the theory of the solution but less happy about its execution... my OCD is leaning towards reengineering this a bit better by drilling out the mount hole to be larger and to fabricate a cam/offset insert to give me a bit more control over the fitment and a little more slack for the tensioner... but before I do that I might have a look at the setup on a standard engine (Bills spare maybe) and get an idea of how much travel the tensioner has in a standard setup... something I didn't check but probably should have.... hind sight... its a glorious thing
I do wonder how others have managed to deal with it... I also wonder if the 3.15mm spacer gasket I have is actually too thick... I went off the listing (again due to lack of info out there) so who knows...
I plan to get hold of another guide once the engine is in the car and running and see if I can do something more engineered...
Bolted everything together... feeling good
Next on the list...
Now that the lower cover is on its a bit easier to fit the sump other wise you have to slide it on and while this is 'normal' I'd rather make sure the seal is good...
Lots and lots of bolts later and its bolted down... one thing to look out for is fitment gearbox end... if dropping a sump with the gearbox on then its best practice to have a few sump bolts nipped up then fit the bolts that pass from the box to the sump so it fits flush to the box with the right torque but as I didn't have the box on the engine at this time I just tried to make sure the sump was flush with the end of the block..
Next up... coolant housing and other animals...
Looking more like an actual engine now
...I also fitted the 630cc injectors and the fuel rail..
Need to get a serpentine belt and pick up the cam cover from the powder coaters and she is pretty much ready to go into the car!!
Another little purchase arrived this week too... after a little research and actual bit of test fitting by Alex (who has just bought a V5 engine to put in his Ibiza and was test fitting my gearbox on it to make sure an 02M will go on ok) it seems there is a fair amount of grinding of the normal 1.8t transfer box to get it to fit...
It can be done and this was my original plan but I spotted a transfer box on ebay listed by the same guys I got the box from... pretty sure it was from my box and was going cheap enough to take a punt..
Interesting differences... for the most part they are the same except here..
S3 transfer box...
R32/VR transfer box..
Case has had a flat machined/cast into it and an M8 bolt used instead of the M10 of the S3 one...
When I fit the box I'll take some pics of the modded transfer box for comparison...
<tuffty/>